Spirit Within
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Sofia becomes discouraged when she fails over and over again in her magic lessons. Can a visit from a princess with a unique perspective help her choose the correct path and boost her spirit at the same time? (PS: To those of you who've messaged me, I'll get to you soon. :) Sorry for the delay!)


Spirit Within

Summary: Sofia becomes discouraged when she has to make a difficult decision. Can a visit from a princess with a unique perspective help her choose the correct path?

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First" or anything/one else in this story. If I did, student loans would _so_ not be an issue! Ha! :)

A/N: All right, here's that second story I promised you all. This time you'll get to see my _favorite_ princess in the Disney franchise. It's been a long time coming, and I actually read somewhere that this particular princess _may_ show up in the show at some point. But until then, she's in this story, so let's go!

"Mm," Sofia whimpered softly as she paced back and forth in front of Cedric's door. She hadn't gone inside yet, because she was worried. And she was worried because of an incident that had occurred yesterday.

*Yesterday*

" _Mr. Cedric," Sofia sang happily as she held up a potion she'd made. "What do you think?"_

 _He smiled patiently. "I think it's supposed to be green, Sofia…not yellow."_

" _Huh?" She looked down at the book and then back at the potion. "Aw. That's my second try and it still isn't doing what it's supposed to." She set down the potion and folded her arms onto the table, resting her head on them. "Plus I blew up one of your books, singed some of Wormwood's feathers…"_

 _The raven huffed at the reminder and moved even farther away from the girl._

" _And I burned our batch of Fly Cakes!_ _ **Who**_ _burns Fly Cakes?!" She sighed and tilted her head down, burying her face in her arms and sighing in defeat. "I'm a terrible apprentice."_

" _Not at all, Sofia," Cedric told her encouragingly. "You forget, this happens to me all the time. But you've got to keep trying! Remember the Sorcerer's Secret?"_

" _Yes, you had a whole song about it," she mumbled before lifting her head and smiling weakly at his smug look. "I know, Mr. Cedric, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff… This is simple stuff! I don't know why I'm doing so badly."_

" _Maybe you're just having an off day. Tomorrow will be better."_

 _She sighed again as he began gathering up his supplies to put them away. "I sure hope so…"_

*Currently*

"Ohh, I just don't want to mess up anything else…" She bit her lip and grasped her amulet, sliding it back and forth against the chain in thought. "Maybe I should just…take a break. Yeah, just a little break, and things will be okay."

Slightly encouraged by that thought, Sofia hurried back down the stairwell and found her way outside. She sat near the fountain and looked at her reflection. "What's wrong with you, Sofia? Why can't you even get the color on a potion right? And how are you messing up such simple things?" She sighed again.

Her amulet sparkled momentarily, catching her eye. She blinked and looked behind her, but no one was there. "Hello?"

"In my tribe, we say ' _wingapo_.'"

"Huh?" Sofia turned around, startled, and nearly fell backwards into the water. She sighed in relief as a tanned hand reached out and took hers, preventing her from falling. Sofia lifted her head and smiled in relief. "Thank you for catching me!" She tilted her head as her visitor helped her sit up straight. "I remember hearing about you… You're Pocahontas, right?"

The Native princess smiled. "I am. And you're Sofia." She turned back to the fountain, holding one hand above the water. "You seem to be troubled."

"I guess I am…" She folded her hands and set them into her lap.

"So what's wrong exactly? Has your smooth river become coarse and uncertain?"

"You could say that," Sofia confirmed with a shrug. "I like magic. I train with my friend Mr. Cedric, who's our Royal Sorcerer, and he teaches me all kinds of spells and things like that. Well, lately, I haven't been doing so well. I'm messing up simple things and damaging things when I don't mean to. What's wrong with me, Pocahontas?"

Pocahontas smiled at the girl before tracing her fingers in the water. "Sofia, we all make mistakes sometimes. But that doesn't mean we stop trying. You have to have a strong spirit and courageous heart to follow your dreams and do what you really want to do. Does magic have a special place in your heart?"

Sofia nodded.

"Well, then…it's important to keep trying. And I'll tell you something my Grandmother Willow always says: if you ever doubt yourself or begin worrying about something, stop. Breathe. And listen to the spirit within."

"And…what exactly does that mean?" she wondered, her eyes curious.

Pocahontas pointed at the younger princess's heart. "Listen to your heart. Hear what it tells you. Sometimes the biggest battle we face is with ourselves: heart versus head. When your head tells you that you can't, your heart usually says you can." She gestured to the water, where her hand had created a ripple effect, and smiled as Sofia glanced into the water at her reflection. "And when you finally realize what your heart is trying to say, reflect on that." She retracted her hand.

"I think I understand." She smiled before looking to her side and then blinked when she realized Pocahontas was gone. "Hmm… Thanks, Pocahontas." She noticed a curious wave of colorful leaves float by before disappearing.

"Oh, what if she's been captured by that horrid fairy again?" Cedric complained to Wormwood while shaking his feathered friend slightly. "She's an hour late, Wormy! An _hour_!"

"That doesn't mean she's been kidnapped," the raven mumbled under his breath as the sorcerer released him finally. "Always jumping to conclusions…"

"Maybe I should go look for her!" The sorcerer took off toward the door and stared down in surprise when he saw he had a visitor. "Sofia!" He dropped to his knees and hugged her, surprising both the girl and the raven. "Where have you been? You had me worried sick!"

Sofia laughed as he released her. "I just…lost track of the time, I guess. I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric."

"Oh, it's fine…"

"He thought you'd been kidnapped," Wormwood told her flatly as he adjusted his feathers. "You should have been here, Princess. His voice went up about an octave…"

Sofia giggled at his mentioning before smiling at Cedric. "I think I'm ready to try that potion again."

"That's the spirit!" He stood as she followed him inside.

The princess smiled at the irony of her mentor's words. "Yeah… Okay, I'm ready!"

The end


End file.
